Monday, July 21, 2008

Executive producer and writer Carol Barbee goes to war to prove that Jericho is down but not out

By Melissa Perenson

The unlikely fan favorite—about an apocalyptic nuclear event that impacts the otherwise peaceful town of Jericho—got an unexpected second chance to shine after a fan-driven campaign to save the show succeeded. Yet even then, Jericho didn't make the grade on CBS, and was canceled after its seven-episode run.

But that doesn't mean the story is finished, if the show's creative staff has its way. Executive producer and writer Carol Barbee (who penned four episodes of the 20-episode series: "Vox Populi," "Why We Fight," "Reconstruction" and "Sedition") spills the details on what lies ahead for Jericho—and how the production team approached season two.

The second-season finale became the series finale—and so much story remains to be told. Have we seen the last of Jericho?

Barbee: I have to be a little cagey, because I can't make any sort of official announcement, because we haven't gotten deals actually, formally put together, but there's definitely interest, and we continue to have meetings and discussions with several parties that are interested in continuing the story. I think the most obvious ones at this point would be the graphic novel; we have a couple of companies who are very interested, and we're meeting back and forth with them. We also have interest in a feature film, so we're in the process of that. The [interest] is very real; it just takes time. Our hope would be that any one of these things, and certainly if we had both of these things going, that at some point they would also bolster the want to put on another TV series...

The Movie Network unveils last week details about their fall schedule.

THE MOVIE NETWORK ORIGINAL SERIES

Sanctuary (New Series)

Premieres October 2008 (13 x 60 min; drama)

Helmed by some of the innovative talents behind Stargate SG-1 and Stargate Atlantis, Sanctuary is set in a mysterious and supernatural world and follows the adventures of Dr. Helen Magnus, her reluctant protégé Will Zimmerman and her fearless and somewhat reckless daughter Ashley, as they study and try to help the strange, terrifying and monstrous creatures that populate their world. Shot almost entirely on green screen using cutting-edge visual effects, Sanctuary is the first television series in North America to use the RED camera system, a digital medium that provides the latest in camera technology by capturing images at more than double the resolution of a high definition camera. Starring Amanda Tapping, Robin Dunne and Emilie Ullerup.

(Please follow the link for the complete blog update and to view the new photos from SGA season 5 production.)

July 21, 2008: Special guest bloggers and office happenings

It looks like the next month or so is going to be very busy around here. Upcoming guests to this blog will include:

Artist/Illustrator/Designer John Picacio.

Stargate Atlantis Visual Effects Supervisor Mark Savela.

Author Lois McMaster Bujold.

Author Catherynne M. Valente.

Author Stephen Dobyns.

Stargate Atlantis Production Designer James Robbins.

Stargate Atlantis Director of Photography Jim Menard.

Writer-Producer Alan McCullough.

In addition to the aforementioned, Stargate Writer/Director/Executive Producer Robert C. Cooper has agreed to drop by later this week to discuss the very first Stargate:SG-1 feature: Ark of Truth. If you have any questions for Robert, start posting. I’ll gather them over the next two days, then send them his way on Wednesday.

I also exchanged emails with Mark “the Chairman” Dacascos who will be reprising his role as Tyre in this Friday’s episode of Stargate: Atlantis, Broken Ties. Mark too has kindly agreed to put in a guest appearance. I’ll start gathering questions for Mark this weekend and hopefully we can arrange for him to drop by next week.

Several more guests in the works. Ideally, if I can get one for every day of the week, I’ll never have to post my own entries again...

Inside Sci Fi's SanctuaryThe creators and cast talk about the unique new series.

by Travis Fickett

July 21, 2008 - With her Stargate days (mostly) behind her, Amanda Tapping is coming back to Sci Fi Channel. This time it's with Sanctuary, a series that is pioneering some new techniques for television production. Tapping plays "Dr. Helen Magnus," who "has dedicated her life to tracking abnormals, exotic creatures that hide among us. Aided in her mission are her fearless daughter Ashley, her new recruit, forensic psychiatrist Dr. Will Zimmerman."

**snippage**

Although Tapping has said she'll likely play Samantha Carter in some iteration of Stargate in the future, she talked about what it was like to leave her regular role behind. "It's like leaving home. I used this analogy earlier today. It's like you have the option of—and I did have the option of going to a community college and staying in my parents' house, i.e., the Stargate franchise or traveling across the country and getting a dorm room and going to a different university, which iswhat I've chosen to do. I've just chosen really weird roommates."

**snippage**

[Sam] Egan added "The real joy of green screen, for me, happens not on the stage, but in the story room where fundamentally as a producer, writer, storyteller, you're not bound by what you can build, but only by your imagination."Sanctuary premieres on Sci Fi on October 3rd, with a two-hour episode.

ALEXIS CRUZSkaara / Klorel in Stargate the feature film and Stargate SG-1, currently appearing in the television series SHARK - Appearing FridayLEXA DOIGDr. Carolyn Lam in Stargate SG-1 - Appearing Saturday

DAVID NYKLSTARGATE: ATLANTIS’ Dr. Radek Zelenka - Appearing Sunday

And in his first Stargate Convention appearance and his first appearance in the Midwest....

BEN BROWDERLt. Colonel Cameron Mitchell of Stargate SG-1 and John Crichton of Farscape. Ben will be seen in the upcoming Stargate films ARK OF TRUTH and CONTINUUM. - Appearing Sunday

Today we are announcing the imminent sell out of GOLD WEEKEND PACKAGES which will be removed from sale at the end of business on July 25th. Our GOLD WEEKEND PACKAGES are the most upscale way to attend the entire convention, so check out all the details at: http://www.creationent.com/cal/sgchi.htm

All other information on the convention is also available by linking to the above!

First stop is the art department, which is filled to overflowing with pieces of concept art, reference photos and three-dimensional models of the major sets.

Acting as temporary tour guide is production designer Stephen Scott, who explains, "There are two worlds in this movie: the human world, which is on the surface—particularly America and Ireland—and the down-below world, which is the elves and the trolls, etc.

"The human world is very much straight-line, with straight streets, and the BPRD complex is full of straight lines and so forth. Whereas down below, we’ve gone for a much curvier world to emphasize the difference. Underground, there’s a strong influence of Indian and Moroccan architecture to give that curvy feel. Budapest is steeped in history—you simply have to walk the streets and look at the statues and colors, and there’s a ton to see and get ideas from."

Other articles in this month's issue include:

THE 3-D UNDERGROUND EXPRESSTake a Journey to the Center of the Earth BEHIND THE DARK KNIGHTFor his next trick, Christopher Nolan directsTHE BATMAN UNMASKEDChristian Bale finds comfort under cape & cowlRETURN TO NARNIAAndrew Adamson directs the encore DAVID DUCHOVNY DEBRIEFSEven now, he’s still The X-Files’ true believer

Christian Bale has squeezed into the Batsuit once again for Christopher Nolan’s stark superhero spectacular The Dark Knight. He talks to David Grove about toys, chaos and his memories of Heath Ledger.

What was it like working with Heath Ledger?

He was just a very intense, brilliant and generous actor. His Joker is a brilliant creation. He took a lot of chances with his performance, in terms of the look and the dress, and he’s just brilliant and terrifying. This is definitely the best Joker that fans have ever seen, the most interesting. His Joker isn’t a silly clown, but a dangerous criminal. He’s a terrifying monster in the film, and that’s all because of Heath’s great performance.

The Dark Knight is out now in US cinemas and opens in the UK on 24th July 2008.

...The producers and stars of Sanctuary met the press. The show's about a 157-year professor, Helen Magnus, played by Amanda Tapping. She investigates and finds the abnormal people who walk among us. The conceit of this show is that it's filmed entirely on virtual sets. "It's not that much different than shooting on a real set once you get over the croma-green headache, which took about three days," said Tapping, who's also an executive producer.

The show started life as a series of webisodes, but the series is what executive producer Damian Kindler called "a complete overhaul, a reboot. It's bigger in scope. I think it's more accessible to a wider audience. We're really proud of it because the concept withstands all that brilliantly. You can do all sorts of things with it and it begins even cooler. Close to four million saw it on the web, and we don't want those people to go, 'Oh, I've seen it. I don't want to see kind of the same thing just on TV.'"

“Sanctuary” follows the adventures of the beautiful, enigmatic and always surprising Dr. Helen Magnus, her new recruit, forensic psychiatrist Dr. Will Zimmerman, and her fearless daughter, Ashley. Together they track down, study and protect the strange and often terrifying creatures that secretly populate our world and live among us.

While some want to dismiss them as monstrous figments of our imaginations and the stuff of our childhood nightmares, Magnus recognizes that the world is full of nature’s mistakes and triumphs and has the spectacular proof that they are indeed real.

Will, an insightful psychiatric profiler with a knack for finding the strange and curious, reluctantly joins the team to aid in the study of beings he can hardly believe himself. Together, Magnus, Will, Ashley, and quirky tech-whiz Henry use their unique combination of instinct, medicine and cutting edge technology to find the creatures that lurk in the corners of our civilization and protect us from those too dangerous to be roaming free.

Braving new worlds in each episode is just the start for “Sanctuary.” The series is also proudly credited for pioneering new techniques and technology in television production.

“Sanctuary” is the only series to shoot extensively on green screen using extraordinary visual effects and virtual sets. The series is also the first in North America to shoot with the new RED camera, a digital system that captures images at more than double the resolution of a high definition camera, resulting in a look that is unmatched on television.

Helmed by some of the innovative talents behind “Stargate SG-1” and “Stargate Atlantis,” the series creative team includes executive producer, writer and creator Damian Kindler; executive producer and lead actor Amanda Tapping; and executive producer and director Martin Wood. In addition, Sam Egan (“Jeremiah,” “The Outer Limits”) serves as executive producer and writer, along with N. John Smith (“Stargate SG-1,” “Stargate Atlantis”) and Keith Beedie as executive producers.

“Sanctuary” is produced in association with SCI FI Channel and is distributed by Tricon Films and Television.